Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Dogs Don't Listen to America

Mister Chin watches out for ideas that sell. He reads three newspapers a day: The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, and the L.A. Times. He notices that the papers reveal a lot about their geographical locations. Today he is noting the comparisons of the report about the famous Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan. The New York Times discusses Mr. Millan’s ambitious business enterprise. Entertainment moguls are quoted saying that “this is not a flash-in-the-pan sort of thing.” Millan’s method attracts clients, and he has his own television show. Chicago’s paper mentions a list of celebrities’ dogs Millan has treated. The L.A. Times didn't report on Cesar Millan today. Two reports were enough for Mr. Chin to notice that though Millan may not heed the laws of national borders, Millan says he lives by the laws of Mother Nature. That makes Mister Chin scratch his chin and wonder. The NY Times reports that Millan is an immigrant who “evaded border patrol from Tijuana into Southern California.” The Tribune also reports that Millan “entered the country as an illegal immigrant,” couching the term in such phraseology that you’d think the guy ‘s status remains criminal to this day. Whether he holds a green card or works as a dog whisperer is not what interests Mr. Chin most; but the different ways the papers present Cesar Millan’s immigration status makes Mister Chin most curious. Furthermore, the Tribune reports that the high-brow veterinarians disapprove of Millan’s old-world methods. Meanwhile, the Times encourages readers to stay tuned to see if Cesar Millan will remain calm and assertive in the wake of fame and fortune, what with all the litigation he is attracting now. Either way, something Mr. Chin learned from the NYT article: Pets walk behind. Something he learned from the Chicago Tribune is that there is still a huge gap between lack of formal education and institutions like the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. Something he gained from both articles is that so long as Mother Nature condones migration, there will continue to be all methods of border crossing. Hmm. Mother Nature's boundaries are not national. Mr. Chin wonders if that idea would sell.